Comparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman
The tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have strikingly different plots and characters; however, each play shares common elements in its resolution. The events in the plays’ closings derive from a tragic flaw possessed by the protagonist in each play. The downfall of each protagonist is caused by his inability to effectively cope with his tragic flaw. The various similarities in the closing of each play include elements of the plot, the reflection of other characters on the misfortune of the tragic hero, and expression of important themes through the dialogue of the characters.
The protagonists of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman each possess a tragic flaw that ultimately induces their demise. Hamlet is characterized as a hesitant hero. He thoroughly contemplates his options instead of taking action; however, when he does not have the time to consider his alternatives, he acts rashly and impulsively. For example, he did not kill Claudius when he was presented with the opportunity in Act III scene iii. Oedipus’ tragic flaw was his excessive pride, or hubris. He believed that he was flawless and thus maintained the false notion that he was also infallible. Willy Loman was plagued by his enchantment with the ephemeral promises of the American Dream.
There are various similarities and differences among the events that occur in the resolutions of the three tragedies, including physical destruction of the protagonist, assumption of the protagonist’s former position by a rival, and suffering caused by disillusionment. The three tragic heroes Hamlet, Oedipus, and Willy Loman are subjected to various forms of physical destruction. Hamlet is slain in a fencing match by a poisoned foil, Oedipus mutilates himself and is exiled from Thebes, and Willy Loman commits suicide by intentionally crashing his car. Another common thread in the resolutions of all three tragedies is that a rival of the tragic hero assumes the responsibilities of the protagonist following his demise. Creon – the man secretly covetous of royal power – becomes the leader of Thebes after Oedipus falls from his position of authority. Fortinbras assumes a position of leadership in Denmark after the death of Claudius and his successors. In Death of a Salesman...
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...ine. And when they start not smiling back – that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat and you’re finished” (138). With these words, Charley attributes Willy’s despair to the hardships of his profession. Biff’s comment that his father “never knew who he was” (138) insinuates that people should strive to discover their true place in life. Willy’s dissatisfaction with his life was a result of his vain attempt to be someone that he was not.
The three tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have similar resolutions despite their diverse storylines. In each play, the tragic hero suffers from great misfortune that ultimately leads to his downfall. Various plot elements in the closing related to the destruction of the protagonist are shared among the three tragedies. The closing of each play reveals thoughts and feelings of characters regarding the demise of the tragic hero. Also, major themes are expressed through the discussion and action of the characters. Most importantly, the conclusion of each tragedy not only evokes feelings of sympathy but also teaches the audience an important lesson about the human condition.
While both Oedipus Rex and Death of a Salesman can be described as tragedies, Willy Loman is not an example of a traditional tragic hero like Oedipus. To be labeled as a tragic hero, the character must experience an anagnorisis, a peripeteia, and must have hubris and a hamartia. Oedipus has all of these qualities, which is what makes him a prime example of tragedy. Oedipus’ tragic flaw, his discovery of what he has done, and his consequential destruction because of his discovery are all necessary to be termed a hero of tragedy. Although Willy Loman has a tragic flaw that is even comparable to Oedipus’ in that it results in his blindness from reality, he, however, does not experience a revelation as to why his demise is inevitable. Without such an experience, Willy is not a hero of tragedy.
The enduring longevity of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ owes its legacy to the universal themes of the human condition transcending through multiple epochs. The text set during the Elizabethan era is highly influenced by Senecan and Greek Tragedy. Elements of the classic Senecan Tragedy including obsessions with crimes, mention of the supernatural, torture, mutilation and incestuous acts. Pathos, Ethos and Logos elements of Greek Tragedy, in which are traced in Hamlet’s, character during his soliloquies in particular his fourth soliloquy. Hamlet allows the audience to feel a sense of compassion as he puts on an antic disposition. “Sea of trouble” the metaphor and reference to the sea indicated the enormity of his problems, gaining sympathy.
American Sign Language is not universal! ASL is independent from other signed languages around the world. It is also not highly pictorial or iconic. Many signs have no simple equivalent or translation in English. Some people believe that ASL is primitive because glosses or word for word transcription may lead reader with the impression there are only verbs in the present tense and few nouns in ASL. For example, ASL will have one sign for some words when English will have several.
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is a well known tragedy of the 19th century. This play has several examples of tragic heroes, tragic flaws, and other elements in a tragedy. A tragic play was one that had at least on tragic hero with a tragic flaw that ended in an inevitable catastrophe, which was usually the death of the tragic hero. This describes Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark perfectly.
Beginning with the Greeks, tragedy has been an essential form of entertainment. Although it has changed slightly over time due to different religious and social values, it is still written and performed to this day. Perhaps the most well known tragedy of all time is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Hamlet is perhaps the epitome of all tragedy. Not only does the tragic hero Hamlet meet his demise, but all the main characters in the play at some point due to some flaw in their character, or some fatal decision, also meet the same fate. It is because of their character flaw and/or their fatal decision at some time during the play that their death can be justified.
American Sign Language is a naturally acquired language; my sister, at five, has perfect ASL grammar and sentence structure, something I will never really have. Grammar in ASL is about your face: eyebrows are lifted for yes or no questions, scrunched together for wh- questions. When signing the word "big", say "Cha" with your voice. It is important to look the signer in the face; use peripheral vision to absorb the hand and arm movements. This, of course is not as easy as it sounds - deaf people have extraordi...
The Shakespearean play of Hamlet captures the audience with many suspenseful and devastating themes including betrayal. Some of the most loved characters get betrayed by who they thought loved them most. The things these characters do to the people they love are wrong, hurtful and disappointing. These examples lead to the destruction of many characters physically and emotionally. The characters in the play who committed the act of betrayal end up paying for what they have done in the form of death, either from nature, their selfishness, disloyalty and madness. The act of betrayal truly captures and displays the play of Hamlet as a sad tragedy.
Sign language is a natural human language, they have their own vocabularies and sentence structures. Sign language comes into practice wherever Deaf societies come into existence. Sign language is not identical worldwide; every country has its own language and accents; however, these are not the verbal or transcribed languages used by hearing individuals around them.
Blumenthal et al. (2007) and Diaz and Motta (2008) conducted empirical studies to prove their hypotheses about the relationship of exercise and mental health. Blumenthal et al. looked at a sample size of 202 adults over the age of 40 and randomly assigned them to one of four groups: (a) group exercise setting, (b) home based exercise group, (c) sertraline group, or (d) placebo group. The participants who were assigned to the exercise groups participated in a 16 week moderate exercise program. The other two groups either received sertraline or a placebo pill. All participants were assessed before, during, and after using the Becks Depression Inventory II [BDI] (Beck, Sheer, & Brown, 1996) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAM-D] (Williams, 19...
Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary work that describes the downfall of an honorable, main character who is involved on historically or socially significant events. The main character, or tragic hero, has a tragic fault, the quality that leads to his or her own destruction. In reading Aristotle’s point of view, a tragedy play is when the main character(s) are under enormous pressure and are incapable to see the dignities in human life, which Aristotle’s ideas of tragedy is based on Oedipus the King. Shakespeare had a different view of tragedy. In fact, Shakespeare believed tragedy is when the hero is simply and solely destroyed. Golden (1984) argued the structure of Shakespearean tragedy would be that individual characters revolved around some pain and misery.
According to Aristotle there are five characteristics of a tragic hero: Flaw or error of judgment, (Peripeteia) a reversal of fortune, the enlightenment (anagnorisis) the discovery or recognition, (hubris) excessive pride, and the character’s fate. Oedipus finds the elders of Thebes praying to the gods for liberation of the plague. Oedipus “alone can help. The cause of the trouble is himself; the chances he has had in his life are precisely the source of the plague” (Diski 1). Oedipus is the cause and the solution to end the plague, but he is blind to the true. Hamlet, differently from Oedipus, is a “man of thought and action, a justice seeker and a criminal, a victim and a wrongdoer, a deeply reflective introvert and a man capable of acting on impulse” (McHugh 1). Hamlet’s free will, injected him with the desire to vengeance his father at any cause. Both Hamlet and Oedipus meet all of the characteristics of a tragic hero. In the beginning of both stories is introduced the first characteristic of a tragic hero, the flaw and error of judgment. In Hamlet, the ghost of his father tells him to revenge his death and In Oedipus; the oracle warns Oedipus about killing his father. Next, the reversal of fortune, in both tragedies leads to the death of their mothers. The anagnorisis of Hamlet was when he discovered how his father died and in Oedipus when the shepherd recognized Oedipus as the killer of Laius. The hubris overpowered both heroes, Hamlet for vengeance of his father’s death and Oedipus to revenge the death of Laius, which ironically was his real father, and he had killed him. Hamlet and Oedipus have the five characteristics of a tragic hero, the main characteristic that both share, is the error of judgment, however, their fate ...
Oedipus from the drama, “Oedipus the King” and Hamlet from, “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” are two characters that are different, yet they both share the same title of being a tragic hero. Oedipus and Hamlet have many characteristics of a tragic hero that separates them in varieties. However, some of those characteristics show that both characters have and use similar thought processes and methods, which classify them as tragic heroes of their dramas. The five characteristics of a tragic hero are: nobility, tragic flaw, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and lastly irony. Both Oedipus and Hamlet hold or have a nobility position in their drama’s plot. Oedipus is the son of the king, and fate has foretold that he will kill his father and take over the kingdom. Hence, Oedipus was fated into his nobility, so he is required always remain in a status above all others. Hamlet is also the son of the former king that is now dead. Hamlet was born into this nobility, and this makes him the prince. Both characters are royalty, yet their morals and values are what make their nobilities the same. Their actions create heavy and dramatic outcomes, which lead to many more complications. Both men try to resolve their problems different, so their fortunes become reversed. Oedipus and Hamlet are very different, yet almost have the same fates. Out of all the five characterizes, three of them describe and separate both men best as tragic heroes. The tragic flaws, which is defined as hamartia, both men have are the main reason they are heroes of tragedy, their recognitions of their situations, which is an anagnorisis, are at different points in their stories, and lastly both men meet an ending that is meant to be an irony of their fate.
A tragic play is a combination of dramatic scenes that act out a tragic event and usually labors unhappy endings. The play would usually portray the downfall of the main character. According to Aristotle, “Every Tragedy therefore must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Song.” Based on Aristotle’s definition, Oedipus and Hamlet are a good examples tragedy. They both have been developed with a strong Plot and Characters. According to Aristotle, Plot is considered to be “the soul of tragedy” and very important in a play. Aristotle also implies Character to be second in line when it comes to developing a successful tragedy.
Aristotle, as a world famous philosopher, gives a clear definition of tragedy in his influential masterpiece Poetics, a well-known Greek technical handbook of literary criticism. In Aristotle’s words, a tragedy is “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play, the form of action, not of narrative, through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions”(Aristotle 12). He believes that a tragedy should be serious and complete in appropriate and pleasurable language; the plot of tragedy should be dramatic, whose incidents will arouse pity and fear, and finally accomplish a catharsis of emotions. His theory of tragedy has been exerting great influence on the tragedy theories in the past two thousand years. Shakespeare, as the greatest dramatist in western literature, also learnt from this theory. Hamlet is one of the most influential tragedies written by Shakespeare. The play vividly focuses on the theme of moral corruption, treachery, revenge, and incest. This essay will first analyze Shakespeare’s Hamlet under Aristotle’s tragedy theory. Then this essay will express personal opinion on Aristotle’s tragedy theory. The purpose of this essay is to help the reader better understand Aristotle’s theory of tragedy and Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet.
The time period of Greek theater’s popularity was a very influential time in our world’s history. Without knowing what Greek theater was all about, how can someone expect to truly understand a tragic play and the history it comes with? The history behind the character of Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, is very complicated. His intricate past dealing with prophecies, family members, and murder is the main focus of the story. There are many characteristics that complete Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; these being the presence of hamartia and peripeteia, a sense of self-awareness, the audience’s pity for the character, and the hero is of noble birth.